(Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Tuesday it would keep providing food assistance to poor Americans in February despite a partial U.S. government shutdown, but warned it had no solution in place for March if the funding shortfall continues. Temporary fences are placed outside the public entrance to 26 Federal Plaza, a U.S. government office building, during the partial U.S. government shutdown in New York, U.S., January 8, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidThe announcement provides a reprieve for the roughly 40 million people whose food stamps have been threatened by the shutdown, triggered last month by President Donald Trump’s demand that lawmakers include billions of dollars for his…

U.S. President Donald Trump confers with Vice President Mike Pence and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) as they faced to reporters in the Rose Garden after the president met with U.S. Congressional leaders about the government shutdown and border security at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 4, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria /File PhotoWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will meet with Senate Republicans on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, amid a government shutdown now in its 18th day, the White House said on Tuesday. Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by David AlexanderOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump would almost certainly face a legal challenge if he makes good on his threat to get funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall by declaring a national emergency and circumventing Congress’s purse-strings power. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs for Camp David from the White House in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File PhotoLegal scholars said it was unclear how such a step would play out, but they agreed a court test would likely focus on whether an emergency actually exists on the southern border and on the limits of presidential power over taxpayer funds. Declaring…

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Joshua Tree National Park in California will be closed at least temporarily so that staffers can grapple with sanitation and maintenance issues that have mushroomed during the partial government shutdown, officials said on Tuesday. A car is driven in Joshua Tree National Park, California, in this photo taken April 16, 2015. REUTERS/ Sam Mircovich/File PhotoThe popular preserve about 100 miles east of Los Angeles in the California desert will shut its gates to all visitors as of Thursday morning, the National Park Service said in a written statement. It hopes to reopen them in the coming days. “Park officials are identifying the additional…

FILE PHOTO: People look at iPhones at the World Trade Center Apple Store during a Black Friday sales event in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., Nov. 23, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo(Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is cutting planned production for its three new iPhone models by about 10 percent for the March quarter, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on Wednesday, a week after the company slashed its quarterly sales forecast. That rare step exposed weakening demand in China for Apple’s iPhones amid a slowing economy, which has also been buffeted by a bruising trade war with the United States. Many analysts and consumers have said the new…

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a televised address to the nation from his desk in the Oval Office about immigration and the southern U.S. border on the 18th day of a partial government shutdown at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said in a televised address on Tuesday that a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico is a critical part of border security and was needed to break a cycle of illegal immigration from Latin America that hurts mainly women and children. Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Peter CooneyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was accused by federal prosecutors of lying about sharing polling data related to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with a business partner with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, according to portions of a court filing by Manafort’s defense team that were inadvertently made public on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort departs U.S. District Court after a motions hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoBefore sending the document to a public database for federal court filings, lawyers for Manafort had tried to black out the portion on polling data…

A woman walks past a bench painted in the colours of the U.S. flag outside a clothing store in Beijing, China January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas PeterSHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is keen to put an end to its trade dispute with the United States but will not make any “unreasonable concessions” and any agreement must involve compromise on both sides, state newspaper the China Daily said on Wednesday. U.S. and Chinese officials are conducting talks in Beijing, their first since U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day truce in a trade war that has roiled global financial markets. The trade discussions, which…

FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are seen at a port in Shanghai, China July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Aly SongBEIJING (Reuters) - Trade talks between China and the United States will continue on Wednesday, a U.S. government official told reporters. U.S. and Chinese officials are conducting talks in Beijing, their first since U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day truce in a trade war that has roiled global financial markets. Reporting by Philip Wen; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Paul TaitOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.